The Man Behind the God
by spirithorse
Summary: For all his faults and everything that the current Pharaoh tells us, wrong as he may be, I truly loved that one Pharaoh, my Pharaoh." Character death. AxY


**Author's Note:** Here's another one from the cliché challenge that I issued using a very beloved cliché of the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom. This was inspired by the recent finds about King Tut. It's a theory (or, at least I think it is) that Atem is based off of King Tut since, until now, we really didn't know what happened to him. So, this is where this came out of. I am aware that I am mixing different accounts of King Tut's life and Yu-Gi-Oh cannon, which probably makes this slightly historically inaccurate and I apologize to those who find the inaccuracies too hard to bear, but I tried my best. Please, enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, just the plot for this story.

**Warning: **Character death.

**The Man Behind the God**

"_Tell about the Pharaoh, Grandfather. Tell about the Pharaoh that you served." It's their constant refrain, every time that they see me. And I don't mind. I enjoy looking back on those times, I enjoy the memories. By now, everyone else has forgotten the man but remembers the god. As the son of the gods, it is right for that portion of the Pharaoh to be remembered. But I also remember him as the man, the part of him that only I got to see. And I cherish those memories above all the others._

_I alone was allowed to see the man behind the god and it pains me that I was not allowed to serve him further in the life beyond this one._

_For all his faults and everything that the current Pharaoh tells us, wrong as he may be, I truly loved that one Pharaoh, my Pharaoh._

* * *

I heard him before I saw him, heard the sound of his cane against the stone as he came down the hall into his rooms, and I knew that today was one of the bad days. He wouldn't use the cane unless he absolutely had to, his pride wouldn't allow him that. I hurried around the room, quickly preparing for the arrival of my king, placing a cup of wine within easy reach before scampering around to gather the necessary medical supplies. I have to stop with a much of bandages in my arms, bowing respectfully as he entered his chambers. "My Pharaoh."

I sensed his gaze on me, lingering over me for a long moment before he moved on, going to sit on his bed. I didn't look up until I heard the clatter of the cane against the floor, watching as the wood rolled along the floor, glancing over at my king. He was glaring at the cane, probably hoping that it would burst into flames. I sighed and moved cautiously across the room before kneeling by his side, being careful not to look directly at him.

He turned to look at me, staring at me for a long while before sighing and slumping, the royal posture that he worked so hard to keep up all day disappearing in the safety of his rooms. "Good evening, Yugi."

"Good evening, my Pharaoh." I moved to reach his left foot, my king stopping me before I could get too far. I snuck a look up at him, blushing at the look that he gave me. I tried to move so that I could attend to his foot again, only to have him move it out of my way. Annoyed, I stop, blowing a stray bang out of my face to glare up at him, for a moment forgetting my station.

The Pharaoh was smiling, leaning forward to look me directly in the eyes. "I have given you permission to use my name. Now, please, use it."

"This is nonsense, my Pharaoh."

"Ah-ah." He moved again, still smiling at me. "This is nonsense…"

I gave in, looking away and whispering his name. "Atem."

Then he allowed me to approach him, carefully maneuvering his left foot into my lap. I saw him wince, trying to ease the pressure that I put on the bandage already there. But even those light touches were making him flinch. I hummed, not really thinking about the sound as I began to unwrap the bandage. "Did this poultice work any better than the last one?"

Atem startled a bit, showing that he hadn't really been listening. I looked up, blinking at him as he slowly turned his head to look at me. He sighed, shaking his head. "My apologies Yugi. Please repeat the question."

So today _had_ been worse, Atem rarely apologized for his actions. He was the Pharaoh, he had no reason to. He did not even have to grant me the permission to use his name, but he did. And I would never know why he did that. I was just a servant, an apprentice to the healers of the court. They were always busy running around, searching for something that would cure Atem of the pain in his foot and the disease that occasionally laid him low for long stretches at a time. So it was up to me to worry about the day to day care of our precious king.

And it broke my heart to see him like this, because I remember what he had been like when he was a child. I had grown up in the palace and it had been rare to have a day go by without Atem running around or trying to escape from his studies. He had always been active and we had been friends for a short while, the span of a few months before the disease had hit him.

Atem had been confined to his chambers for a long time, long enough for me to be snatched up by the healers for an apprentice because of my, apparently, natural skills. So, I had not been able to see him then. And certainly not after his father died when he was nine, leaving him the trouble of ruling and trying to bring his rebelling body under control.

I stared up at his face, noticing that the dark circles under his eyes had gotten darker, more worry lines appearing in his forehead. If the disease that kept attacking didn't kill him, this country would. He had, so far, failed to produce any heirs for the throne. The two daughters that had been born were both stillborn, already laid to rest. And his priests were probably putting more pressure on him, especially Seth.

Even worse was the state of the kingdom. Atem was still rebuilding from the battle with the self proclaimed thief king who had tried to pull apart the kingdom because of the sacred items that preserved us, the chief among them hanging around Atem's neck. I stared at the upside down golden pyramid shape that hung around Atem's neck, watching it glitter in the dimming light.

Atem's father had created the Items in a bid to try to save the kingdom from war, something that he was successful in, but his father had destroyed a whole village for the protection of the Items, earning the thief king's wrath.

Thankfully, the thief king was rotting out in the desert somewhere, delivered directly to the afterlife by Atem himself. Although the effort had nearly killed Atem. The teenage king had been carried back to the palace, unable to move from his bed for months on end. It hadn't helped that, during that time, the second of his daughters had been delivered stillborn. The official report that the healers had given had said that the child had absorbed too much harmful shadow magic. I wasn't too sure about that.

But no one wanted to say anything that would push their king over the edge because we all loved him. I had been out into the city many times and I would always hear stories about how the people loved their king, how they preferred him over some of the others who had ruled. And I would hear about how they worried. Everyone in the city had seen Atem limping through at least once, pushing himself to make sure that all his people were well taken care of before seeing to himself and they admired that about their leader.

I was sure that half of the prayers to the gods at that time were to keep their king in good health. From what Siamun told me, no other king in his memory had inspired the people so much.

"Did this poultice work any better than the last one?" I was sure that I had his attention this time, Atem looking down at me with that question.

He seemed to think it over while I draw over the bowl of the new stuff that the healers had come up with. I wrinkled my nose a bit at the smell. I wasn't sure how Atem could stand this stuff, but I guessed if there was a chance for him to go back to the way he had been before, Atem was willing to try anything. Even if it nearly burned his skin off. I flinched at the memory of that one.

"It seemed to be just the same as before." There was resignation in Atem's voice, a tone that spoke of someone used to many failures. And I hated it. I hated that I was the one to see this weakness just as I loved the chance to see the real Atem.

"Hey." I rested my hand against his leg, drawing his attention back to me. "Don't give up. We'll find something, alright?"

He stared at my hand for a while before resting his over mine, our fingers accidentally sliding together. "Alright, Yugi. Thank you."

I swallowed and nodded, quickly turning back to my work, sure that I was blushing. I was still not used to the time that Atem showed some kind of friendly affection toward me. I quickly dipped my head into the foul smelling paste before gently rubbing it over his foot, trying to be as careful as I could, but Atem still winced. I'm sure that I muttered apologies the entire time, a habit that I had gotten into at a young age. Atem had long since stopped trying to break me of that habit, just reassuring me that he was fine at the end of my fumbled attempts.

But he didn't today. I realized this while I was wrapping his foot in a clean bandage. I bit my lip and gathered my supplies, backing towards the door and giving him a bow, reverting back to the formalities that we both had to stand by. "Have a good rest, my Pharaoh."

Atem doesn't respond, still staring at the painted walls of his chamber. I straightened up out of my bow, watching him. For a while, he just sat there on his bed, starting. Then he moved, flinching as he pushed off from his bed, nearly hopping across the room and pointedly ignoring the cane that he could have used. He caught himself on the wall, flinching as he carefully set his left foot on the floor, obviously not putting weight on it.

One hand rose from the wall, quivering before he rested it over one of the horses that was painted on the walls, one of a team of two used to draw a chariot. His hand slid down the wall slowly, moving away from the painted horse as he leaned heavily against the wall. I felt tears come to my eyes as I watched my king break down, his own sobs silent, but I could see his shoulders shaking.

And I turned and ran away. I just couldn't watch that.

* * *

It had started out as such a good day. Atem was actually moving about without the help of his cane that morning and had greeted me with a smile, something that had made he relax after I had watched him break down the night before. Then he had gone out to attend to his duties and I had to attend to mine.

I had been sent down into the barracks, pointedly ignoring the comments made about my station, my size and my looks as I helped the soldiers who had been wounded beyond what they could take care of. I had finished with that work by midday and I was hoping that I would get a break to eat before the healers sent me rushing off to find some other outrageous ingredient for the Pharaoh. I was seriously considering asking the servants who cared for the horses what they used on the animals because it worked much better than whatever the healers would come with.

Completely lost in my own thoughts, I missed the first shouts from the gates. I turned, backing out of the way as a chariot comes through the gates, the driver hauling the horses to a stop. I stared at the chariot, amazed that it had managed to stay together at that speed. One of the wheels was ready to come off, and the main part of the chariot was broken and dented in places, looking like it had just been through three wars in a row without any time to stop for repairs. Even the horses looked horrible, one refusing to put weight on his left hint leg.

That horse was panicking, shifting around so it was impossible for the people to get out of the chariot. I dropped my supplies to the ground and calmly walked over to the animal, grasping the reins and trying to calm it down. Surprisingly, my plan worked, the horse lowering its head and shivering, strange because it was covered in sweat. I patted its red coat, peering around to the chariot.

My mouth fell open in shock as the driver hopped out of the chariot, quickly leaning back over to pick up someone who was in the back of the chariot with him. As the man stepped away, I recognized Atem, the Pharaoh biting down on a piece of leather to keep from screaming as he was moved. The entirety of the palace rushed out at the driver's shout, one of the men from the stables coming to lead the horses away.

And I all I could do was just stand there as Atem was taken inside, the panic quickly spreading.

I didn't know how long I stood in the courtyard of the palace, unable to move from the spot. But, eventually, one of the healers came rushing out and shoved me towards the market, demanding a list of things from me. I obeyed without a question, the list already cementing itself in my head as I ran for the market.

I moved among the stalls, asking for the supplies and promising payment later. They all trusted me, and knew that I would not go back on my word. But they had also heard what had happened to the Pharaoh, which was more than what I had heard.

"They were out towards the desert, probably checking on the crop this year." The kind old woman smiled at me as she prepared what I had asked for. While her movements were calm and controlled, I was nearly bouncing in place. I had to get back there and know what had really happened; I didn't like being left out like this. "Something spooked the horses. The driver of the chariot took a tumble out of the back so the Pharaoh took control. They say that there was a young child, don't know about the gender, playing out there in the way of the team, so the Pharaoh swerved to miss it."

She shrugged and handed me what I had asked for, staring directly at me. "And it crashed. Really badly apparently, or that's what I heard from my cousin, he helps with the chariots in the palace now because, well…" She looked at me, smiling before making a shooing motion. "Get back to your duties young one, I can tell that you are impatient."

I thanked her and ran back to the palace, nearly screaming in frustration when I was stuck with the job of mixing up the poultice for the night and whatever they wanted me to do. Only when there was a chance at glory would they rush to help out. I shook my head and settled in for a long night, unable to do anything but work.

* * *

I crept cautiously into his room, shaking my head at the state of the place. As quietly as I could, I began to clean, moving things back to their proper place. Atem would have had a fit it he saw his chambers in this state…if he had been conscious for a long enough period. I paused in my cleaning and look over at our king.

He had succumbed to the disease that plagued him soon after they had gotten him back to his chambers, unable to do anything as they tried to fix his leg and ease his suffering. And, I had not been allowed into his presence for a week, kept busy between constantly making new potions that would be the next way to cure our king and helping out with the men in the stables. I wanted to learn ways that they helped the injured horses, maybe hoping that it would work for Atem.

For the past week, I had worked with the red horse from Atem's chariot team, trying to help him even though the stallion didn't seem to be getting any better. I had a horrible feeling that they were just refraining from putting the stallion out of his misery because of me.

I muffled a curse as I tripped over one of his canes that had been knocked to the floor. I froze as I heard Atem move, groaning as he sat up in his bed. "Who's…Yugi?"

"I'm sorry, my P-Atem. I was just…" I trailed off as he smiled at me shifting a bit so he was sitting up. Apparently, he was feeling a bit better today, but I could see the signs that all was not perfectly alright. But Atem was probably annoyed at being forced to stay in bed while he had a country to rule. If his leg had not kept him there, I knew that Atem would have been trying to rule, driving his court to distraction.

I walked closer to the bed as he waved me over, cautiously kneeling on the floor by him. To my surprise, his smile didn't disappear or fade. Atem shifted, wincing slightly at the move before glaring down at his leg. "Why is it always the left side?"

"I don't know."

"Really?" He chuckled, leaning back a bit. "The healer doesn't know."

I blushed. "I'm not a healer, just an apprentice."

He frowned. "You should be. After all you have done for me, you should be." He tipped his head to one side, tapping his fingers against his bed as he thought something out.

Atem sighed and rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. I blinked and leaned forward more, trying to see his face. His eyes moved to look at me before he looked back up at the ceiling. "You know, if I didn't enjoy your company so much, I would probably reward you with a position in court or land or something like that. But I think you would be able to forgive me for wanting to keep you here instead of sending you away."

"Uh…" I didn't know what to say to that, staring at him as he continued to stare at the ceiling.

He raised an eyebrow, still not looking at me. "What? Do you think you don't deserve a reward for what you have been doing since I was nine?"

"It's my job."

"Still, you have to put up with me."

"You are my king."

"Yugi." He spoke my name as a whisper, shaking his head. "You _deserve_ something for your loyal service to me. It's my way of thanking a friend."

"Friend?"

"Sure." There was a sparkle of mirth in Atem's eyes. "Unless that was someone else that I skipped lessons with? Please tell me that it wasn't Mana, I would never forgive myself if it was Mana. I said some rather inappropriate things back then for a girl her age to hear."

"N-no, that was me."

"Good." And there was that smile again, the one that I saw all the time from him. It was then that I realized how rare that smile would be and how special that it was. It was the smile that he only reserved for me and would only give to me. That was the time that I realized that I was falling in love with him, more than just the love and loyalty that a person would show a great king. But real love.

I blushed, getting ready to stand up. I paused as I thought I heard him whimper, realizing that I had just heard the sound wrong or he had just moved his injured leg wrong. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get the things I need to take care of you since none of the others can wake up this early in the morning to do so." We both shared a smile at that before I looked around his room with a frown. "And I'll finish seeing that this place is fit for a Pharaoh."

"Will you stay?"

"What?"

"After that, will you stay?"

I shifted nervously, not sure of what to say. "I will have to report to Seth on your condition as well as your wife."

"After?" I didn't know what to do about the pleading look in his eyes, wondering why Atem wanted me to stay so badly.

"Alright." I nodded and went out to do my duties, barely paying attention to them all day. I was just waiting for the time when I could go back to Atem as he had requested. Requested and not ordered, like he could have.

I ran back to Atem's chambers when all my tasks were done, carefully pushing open the door and smiling when I saw him there, waiting for me. He gave me that smile, my smile, before beckoning me over. And we talked away the rest of the afternoon, mostly remembering the stupid things we had done and children. As the day wore on, we talked about the kingdom and our opinion of things, something that I would have been afraid to speak of before.

I had long lost track of time, only remembering myself when I saw Atem fading, struggling to keep awake. I smiled and shook my head, stopping him from speaking. "I have already kept you up too long. You need your rest to heal."

"Yugi…"

"I'll come back tomorrow."

"Thank you." He sighed and closed his eyes, easily slipping into a calm sleep. I paused at the door to look back at him, smiling before walking out.

* * *

I didn't have to go to the stables that day, the red stallion had colicked in the night and they hadn't been able to save him. That was something that I wasn't looking forward to telling Atem about that. He loved those horses, they were his only chance at freedom.

A smile crossed my face as I walked to the palace. Atem and I had been talking together for months now, speaking of whatever crossed our minds as I tried to keep him sane during his enforced stillness. The smile dropped a bit as I remembered the past three days had been mostly silent. I had just sat there while Atem had slept or thrashed, trying to keep him still to keep himself from making the injured leg worse. But the important thing was that I had been there.

Hopefully he would be better today, he had been looking better when I had left him the night before. The persistent smile returned, a bounce entering into my step. It was silly how much I looked forward to the times that I could just sit and talk to Atem, they had quickly become the highlight of my day, the one part that I longed to reach quickly. By this point, he had just about convinced me to become his personal servant, wanting to keep away from the other healers who insisted that they had found the cure for all his ills.

"I'd rather have your honesty than continuing false hope." I smiled in remembrance of his words, nearly running through the halls of the palace. I was too excited at this point to notice that everything was too quiet and no one was about.

I did notice the crowd around Atem's chambers. I paused for a moment before beginning to shove my through the crowd, fighting to get through the front. A hand on my shoulder stopped my advance through the crowd, gently drawing me to the side. I looked up, surprised to see Mahad there, the priest in charge of the stone tablets that held the _ka_ monsters. I was ready to ask him a question when the crowd parted, Mahad and I right in the front of one of the sides.

Seth was the first one out of Atem's chambers, dragging his feet. A shout from behind stopped him, the priest turning around to stare at the healers who followed him out. Silence fell over the crowded hallway, the healers looking at each other before bowing to Seth and speaking. "My Pharaoh."

"No!" I wasn't aware that I had shouted, pulling away from Mahad and running into Atem's rooms, finding him on his bed where I had left him the night before. I rushed over, looking him over, trying to find something wrong with him.

At first, there was nothing, Atem just looked like he was asleep. But that was the problem, in the end. I reached out to touch him, drawing my hand began quickly when I remembered that there were people here, it was no longer just Atem and I. Instead, I just studied him closely, holding my breath when I realized that the healers were right, for once in their lives. Atem wasn't breathing, nor was he making any of the small movements that he made when asleep.

With a trembling hand, I reached out to touch his wrist, resting my fingers over where the heartbeat was felt through the wrist and felt nothing.

I gasped and backed away, shaking my head. It wasn't possible for this to happen. Atem had been fine just yesterday. He had been awake and speaking to me. There was nothing that should have brought this on.

I flinched as I ran into someone, jumping and spinning around to find myself facing Seth. I stare at him for a long while before my knees give out, dropping me to the floor in a bow as I fall back into habit. "My apologies...Pharaoh."

The title sounded wrong on my tongue. For me, it would always belong to one person only. And it wasn't Seth.

He may have grunted or something like that, acknowledging me before beginning to give orders to remove Atem from the room. And everyone followed them.

I looked up only once, to watch as they carried Atem out the door, ready to take him to the embalmers. And that was only a quick glance. The rest of the time, I stared at the floor, ignored by everyone else in the room. I just couldn't bring myself to get up and move, and I couldn't believe that any of this was true. It had just happened too fast.

It wasn't until everyone had left that I finally gave up, sliding to the floor and sobbing against the stone.

* * *

_These children who urge me to speak are not my own. I have never married, more from my own choice than anything else. Part of me is frightened, still the scared child that I was before. I don't want to fall in love and be left alone._

_Again._

* * *

The moon was full in the sky as the bent old man made his way into the valley, keeping a careful eye for guards and thieves, he didn't want to be caught by either. He easily slipped through the stone, knowing where he was going, he had been visiting this spot for a long time. Part of him wondered if the guards let him through just because they knew that he would do no harm to the Pharaohs that rested in this valley or because most of them he had helped raise and spoken to.

He stopped, staring at a spot that was unmarked only because they didn't want thieves to get in. Seth's tomb had been robbed not three weeks after he had been buried, but the new Pharaoh had done nothing about it, too busy with building himself. But the old man wanted this one tomb to never be found or disturbed. Out of all of the Pharaohs buried here, this one deserved the peace.

He looked around him at the cliffs in the dark before sitting on the ground and resting his hand over where he knew the entrance to the tomb would be. He wasn't worried about leaving any traces behind, the sand would erase all trace that he was here by the morning. He sighed heavily, looking over at where his wrinkled hand rested. "Atem…"

Yugi closed his eyes, enjoying the silence, enjoying the peace that he could only get here. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to watch the play of the shadows over the ground. And then, he began to talk in a low voice, speaking of his day and the months that had passed since his last visit; apologizing that he had waited so long, but he had to earn a living and it was getting harder to sneak into the valley.

He yawned, shaking his head and raising one hand to rub his eyes. He looked cautiously around before shrugging and laying on the ground. He could always wake up and sneak back out of the valley in plenty of time. Of course, if he was caught, he could always play the senile old man. It had worked before.

Yugi sighed and wiggled a bit on the ground to get comfortable, yawning again and shutting his eyes, half aware that he spoke. "I'm sorry, my Pharaoh, but I'm tired."

"I have given you permission to use my name. Now, please, use it." Yugi's eyes open wide at the familiar voice, sitting up quickly and looking around.

There, standing evenly on both legs without needing to use a cane, was Atem. He smiled at Yugi, holding out his hand and beckoning him forward. Yugi hesitated, looking around him at the valley before shaking his head. "I can't."

"Yugi."

"I have things to do."

"Please, Yugi." Yugi stopped his protests, staring at Atem before slowly nodding, standing up and brushing his clothes off, suddenly noticing how easy it was to move again. He blinked and was about to look back when Atem caught his hand, pulling him forward with a laugh. "We don't have time for that, Yugi, the sun is rising. Come on!"

Yugi was pulled forward, running after Atem through the stones of the valley, laughter startled from him. Atem looked back on him, smiling the smile that he only reserved for Yugi before letting out a laugh of his own.

Yugi was pulled to a stop and the entrance of the valley, Atem looking around before walking easily past the guards to where a red horse stood impatiently. Atem easily vaulted up onto the horse's back, holding out his hand for Yugi. Yugi shifted before nodding, sneaking past the guard who didn't see him to grab Atem's hand, using it to scramble up onto the horse's back.

The horse snorted, Yugi yelping and clinging to the black mane. Atem laughed and wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist. "Come on, let's chase that sun."

Yugi gave a nod, letting out a whoop as the horse lunged forward into an easy gallop. Behind him, he could hear Atem joining Yugi in laughter, the two of them tearing across the sands of the desert, leaving behind the wrinkled body of an old man in the valley, a smile on his face as he rested silently on the warming ground.

_

* * *

Please read and review. Criticism is welcome._


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